6ft 3in ‘Female Shaq’ who impressed Kevin Garnett brutally dumped out of March Madness
Audi Crooks' NCAA Tournament run is over almost before it began.
Recent performances have catapulted the 20-year-old into the limelight and even captured the attention of an NBA champion.
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Crooks demonstrated her quality recently when she led Iowa State to an 85-53 win over Kansas State in their regular season finale.
The center posted a season-high 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.
She became the fastest player to reach 1000 points in Iowa's program history and has scored in double figures in 65 straight games.
Crooks then put up 27 points and three rebounds for the Cyclones as they beat Princeton to move into the first round of this year's March Madness.
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However, her Cinderella run at the Big Dance came to abrupt halt at the hands of Michigan on Friday.
The 6ft 3in low-post menace put up 28 points but it was not enough to cause an upset as Iowa State fell 74-80 and crashed out of the NCAA Tournament.
It was a brutal blow for Crooks, who got virtually no support from her teammates on the offensive end.
Teammate Addy Brown struggled to back her up and finished with just eight points.
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Crooks will now continue her career, either at Iowa State or a new program, and work on her game.
Crook's paint dominance and power has seen her earn some comparisons with some of the best NBA centers of all-time, not least Shaquille O’Neal.
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An Instagram post labellng Crooks as Lady Shaq was reposted by former Celtics star Kevin Garnett.
Garnett applauded Crooks’ dominance and captioning the post, “ 😤😤😤 💯That block work 💯”
The 2008 NBA champion went further with his praise, calling her style as “old-school fundamentals mixed with new-age dominance.”
Comparisons with O'Neal shouldn't be taken lightly. The former Lakers star is rated as one of the greatest basketball players ever and made a name as one of the most punishing athletes.
O'Neal was the big man that other opposing big-men were intimidated by.
The now 52-year-old also enjoyed a career full of accolades.
O'Neal picked up four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, three All-Star Game MVPs, Olympic and World Championship gold medals.
Garnett isn't alone in rating Crooks highly, Women's Hoops Network shared a video of her highlights and fans flocked to the comments to praise her.
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"Pleasure to watch dominant post play. NBA could take a page from Crooks book!" one fan commented.
"Audi is a female Shaq no one can top her in the paint she a baller," one fan wrote, comparing Crooks' athleticism to the NBA legend.
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"Lady Joker," drawing a parallel between her and Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.
Crooks has a long career ahead of her to match the achievements of O'Neal but for now she can enjoy garnering praise for her performances at Iowa State.
How to watch March Madness in the UK
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March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, with a total of 68 teams battling it out to become the Division 1 college champions.
This year UConn have the chance to become only the second team ever to complete a March Madness three-peat, having emerged victorious for the last two years.
talkSPORT will have the latest news on the tournament, but for UK basketball fans the way to watch is through Sky Sports. The broadcaster will be showing EVERY March Madness game through their Sky Sports + streaming service.
, or read our article on the best Sky Sports deals available now.
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